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Sword & Citadel Spiral-Bound | 2021-08-10

Gene Wolfe

★★★★☆+ from 10,001 to 50,000 ratings

$20.69 - Free Shipping
The second two novels in Gene Wolfe’s epic four-part masterpiece, The Book of the New Sun, now together in one volume as a Tor Essentials title.

Tor Essentials presents new editions of science fiction and fantasy titles of proven merit and lasting value, each volume introduced by an appropriate literary figure.

The Washington Post called Gene Wolfe (1931-2019) “the finest writer the science fiction world has yet produced.” Ursula K. Le Guin called him, simply, “our Melville.” The four-volume Book of the New Sun is unanimously acclaimed as his greatest achievement.

In book three, The Sword of the Lictor, Severian wanders as a pilgrim, driven by a sense of unfathomable destiny, carrying out a dark mission far from home.

In book four, The Citadel of the Autarch, Severian clashes in a final reckoning with the dread Autarch, fulfilling an ancient prophecy that will alter forever the realm known as Urth.

With a new introduction by historian and science fiction author Ada Palmer, author of Too Like the Lightning.

Publisher: Macmillan
Original Binding: Trade Paperback
Pages: 512 pages
ISBN-10: 1250781248
Item Weight: 0.9 lbs
Dimensions: 5.3 x 1.3 x 8.3 inches
Customer Reviews: 4 out of 5 stars 10,001 to 50,000 ratings
Praise for The Book of the New Sun:

"A major work of twentieth-century American literature...Contains elements of Spenserian allegory, Swiftian satire, Dickensian social consciousness, and Wagnerian mythology. Wolfe creates a truly alien social order that the reader comes to experience from within...once into it, there is no stopping." --The New York Times

"A masterpiece...The best science fiction I've read in years." --Ursula K. Le Guin

"Comparable in importance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis." --Publishers Weekly

"Arguably the finest piece of literature American science fiction has yet produced." --Chicago Sun-Times

GENE WOLFE (1931-2019) was a winner of five World Fantasy Awards, including one for life achievement, as well as two Nebula Awards, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the Prix Apollo. In 2007, he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. In 2013, he received the SFWA Grand Master Award.